Hologram
by She Knows Best
Summary: All he wanted was a dance, but all she wanted was Beast Boy. One shot, RaeBB.


Alright guys, this is my first attempt at a Teen Titan fic, and my first successful attempt at a one shot. I don't own the Teen Titans!

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**All he wanted was a dance and all she wanted was Beast Boy…**

_Why am I doing this?_ Raven thought as she walked through the mall, following Starfire's sharp gasps over the various outfits hung through out the "Dresses" section of Jordstrom.

"We must dress nicely. You cannot see the dress I choose, friend Raven. I do not want to be recognized by anyone at the ball." Starfire said as she fingered one of the pink dresses on the rack, then shook her head as she went towards a green dress.

_Who would've ever thought I'd willingly go into Jordstrom?_ Raven thought vaguely as she laid her hands against the fabric of one of the dresses.

The invitation had come in a month before, addressed to the Teen Titans, care of Dick Grayson, Robin. The Wayne Enterprises' own Bruce Wayne was having a masquerade ball to commemorate the success of the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic in Park Row, Gotham City and all of the Titans were invited. Everyone had been excited, except Raven, who balked at the idea of getting dressed up and… dancing. She had resolved not to go, but Starfire had pleaded with her until she finally gave in.

Raven looked through the rows of dresses, moving past the pink dresses, the white dresses, the orange dresses, the green dresses, the yellow dresses, the red dresses and finally settling on a row of black dresses. Raising one to meet her eyes, she draped it across her arm before continuing to search the store. She left towards the dressing rooms with three dresses, one in black, one in purple and the final one in blue.

She started with the blue dress, but found the color looked peculiar with her skin tone, then the purple, which matched her hair too well, and finally tried on the black dress. She blushed when she got it on, staring at the mirror.

_Maybe like this, Beast Boy will…_ she cut her line of thought before it got past that and shook her head. Beast Boy wouldn't anything. He thought she was a creepy Gothic girl. Sure, they were friends, but that was all that would ever happen to them.

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"Are you sure you want to do this, man?" Cyborg asked carefully, looking eye to eye at the green boy in front of him. Beast Boy had recently gone through a growth spurt, making him the third shortest in the house. He licked his lips nervously then nodded once. Cyborg sighed and handed Beast Boy the ring in his hand.

"Put it on your right ring finger when you're ready." He said as he went to get a mirror from his closet. Beast Boy gave him a look. "What? Its easier to see where I need repairs with this." He said lamely, slightly embarrassed. Beast Boy shook his head, then took a deep breath.

"Dude, if this works…" he said as he squeezed his eyes closed and put on the ring. Opening his eyes when he felt no change, he faced the mirror and smiled brightly.

----

The night of the ball, everyone got ready separately, hoping to hide their identities that way. Starfire borrowed one of Raven's signature cloaks to wear before the ball so that the other Titans wouldn't see her outfit and recognize her at the dance. Raven did the same, her mask tucked neatly into a pocket inside her cape. Meanwhile, the male Titans made no move to hide their costumes from each other.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Beast Boy whined as the girls entered the living room.

"Suck it up, furball." Raven said in monotone. He frowned at her.

Robin wore a standard, simple black tuxedo, Cyborg wore a black, pinstripe tuxedo with a top hat and Beast Boy wore an eye-catching white tuxedo.

Robin extended his arm out to Starfire with a smile and a bright blush. "I'll escort you to the limo," he mumbled as she took his arm with a matching blush. Raven sighed as she started to follow them on her own when suddenly a black arm blocked her. She looked up.

"Don't think you're getting out of here without one, Rae," Cyborg said, referring to an escort. Instead of being offended at the nickname, she smiled gently and took his arm. Beast Boy huffed in back of them and followed with a scowl.

----

_Why am I doing this?_ Raven asked herself for what must have been the twelfth time that night. She took another sip of the far too expensive apple cider in the far too expensive crystal glass in her hand and leaned against a wall.

Dancing was not her thing, even when she was wearing the right outfit and a mask to cover her face. If anyone was able to recognize her…

On the dance floor, Robin was attempting to talk up Starfire. The two pretended not to recognize each other and let loose, although it was painfully obvious to Raven that they stuck out like two very sore thumbs.

Starfire had been pretty easy to recognize with her orange-tinted red hair, Cyborg's machinery wasn't about to be hidden by the suit he wore and Robin was painfully obvious with his crime fighting mask on. Raven felt ridiculous.

The only one of the quintuplet that she failed to spot was Beast Boy, which surprised her because of his unusual skin color. She took another sip of apple cider.

"Everything's pointless." A man said as he eased in next to her against the wall. Raven stared at him.

_Not tonight,_ she thought. _Tonight I'm not going to think about how useless anything is. Tonight… maybe tonight I can just… be normal._

"I suppose." She said softly.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked. She looked over at him, confused. The conversation sounded oddly familiar.

The man was taller than her, probably about 5'11" to her petite 5'4". He had messy black hair and tanned skin. Not the type she had expected to talk to her about hopelessness.

"No thanks." She said bluntly, turning to watch the dance floor again. The man seemed to be somewhat confused.

"Umm… want to… dance maybe?" He tried again. She turned towards him, slightly surprised at the offer.

_Damn it. Where's Beast Boy?_ She thought fervently.

She had been searching for him for most of the night. She had caught glimpses of him during the first half hour of the dance, but then he had faded into the crowd.

"No thanks. I'm kind of waiting for someone." She answered. The man's shoulders sagged.

"Oh… anyone in particular?" He asked. Raven stared at him again.

"Well, yes, I did say that I was waiting for someone in particular."

"Oh…" the man scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "This just isn't really my night."

"Story of my life."

"Well…" he started as they lapsed into an awkward silence, "who are you waiting for?"

Raven looked at him pointedly, then quickly looked around her to check if anyone she knew was near her. Cyborg was chatting up a starry-eyed waitress while Robin and Starfire danced together on the dance floor. She looked at him again.

"What was it you said your name was?" She asked suspiciously. If this was one of those damn reporters…

"Oh I'm Gar- uhh… Gary. Yeah, I'm Gary Logman." He answered smiling sheepishly. Raven stared at him.

"I'm sorry, I never got your name either," he continued.

"Rachel Roth." She said, taking another sip of apple cider before sighing. "I'm waiting for a guy I know. Sorry to shoot you down."

"Oh." He looked a little deflated, then perked back up. "Well, who're you waiting for?"

"I don't think you'll know him." She said plainly.

"Well… maybe I can help you find him?" He offered.

_Oh, well, now that you mention it, maybe you've seen him. He has green skin, and green eyes, and dark green hair, and he fights crime in Jump City. Oh yeah, and he lives in a big "T" by the bay, you know, the same "T" I live in…_

"No thanks."

The two once again lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Raven was the first to give in.

"His name's Garfield."

Gary looked a little confused, then smiled.

"That's a pretty nice name." He said.

_Is he puffing out his chest a little?_ Raven wondered as she stared at him, but she blinked and thought she had imagined it.

"Yeah, I suppose." She answered.

"Well, why're you waiting for this Garfield guy? You should be out on the dance floor, enjoying yourself!" He wiggled a little in his spot, which Raven took to be an imitation of a dance.

She snorted softly, then tried to hide it in a cough.

"Come on, it's not like we're married or anything," he said with a smile.

Raven stared at him.

"Er… I mean, it's not like you're married or anything. Like you're… err… yeah, because you don't have a ring!" He exclaimed, seizing her hand and pointing to her ring finger wildly.

"…"

"Er…" he said awkwardly, dropping her hand and scratching the back of his head again.

She went back to scanning the dance floor.

"Come on, just one dance."

"Really, I can't." Raven said, huffing a sigh.

"Oh… you must really be close to this guy." He said as he leaned against the wall again, arms across his chest. Raven blushed.

"No… well, yeah I guess… I mean, we live together… but not that way… we're roommates.. And really, I think he's the most annoying guy in the house." She struggled.

Gary cocked an eyebrow, "then why won't you dance with me?"

"Well, I…" she scanned the immediate area again to make sure that there was no one near enough to hear her. Robin and Starfire were sipping out of crystal glasses like the one in her hand, Robin gently coaching Starfire on the difference between apple cider and apple juice. Cyborg was on the dance floor with a girl that reminded Raven vaguely of a tame Jinx. Beast Boy was still no where to be found.

"I guess I kind of like him." Raven admitted softly. Just speaking the words made her feel like a huge weight had lifted off of her shoulders and she sighed gently from the pleasure of it. "I guess I just like Garfield…"

Gary looked somewhat taken aback by this, then for some reason he flushed a bright pink.

"Oh…" he said awkwardly. And then it happened.

Raven had the most absurd urge to laugh. She smiled and tried to stop herself, but then it popped right out: a laugh.

Gary almost jumped out of his skin when he heard it.

"I'm sorry, really, I'm sorry. This is just so ridiculous." Raven continued to softly laugh. "I mean, Garfield isn't here, and you are, and you're asking me to dance and he isn't, and all I can do is lean against a wall and tell you that I have feelings for him. I'm telling _you_! A perfect stranger."

"Well… wanna dance?" He tried again.

"You are relentless." Raven smiled.

"Come on, just one dance." He extended his hand, palm up, to her.

Raven looked at him, then the dance floor. Still no sign of Beast Boy. She looked to him again. She hadn't noticed it before but his eyes were the most striking shade of green.

_What can it hurt? Maybe Beast Boy will even be on the floor where I dance. Then I can just kind of… I don't know, shimmy up against him or something?_

"Well, what the hell?" She said as she grabbed Gary's extended hand. He led her to the dance floor.

----

When he touched her hand, it felt like electricity all through his body. Like she had somehow focused all that dark magic she had in her and let it all go through her innocent looking fingers and into his unsuspecting body.

She had looked gorgeous. Her black dress had been something out of a dream, form-fitting without showing too much. A tantalizing eye-taste. The top was strapless with a folded over bit. It had appeared to wrap around her to rest at her left hip, where a bright red brooch had sat. The dress had fallen just above where her simple black heels met the ground. She had looked… amazing. Almost more so than usual. She hadn't worn an inch of make-up, which he found strangely comforting.

And she had laughed. He hadn't needed to crack a lame joke… she had just done it on her own. She had laughed. The sound tinkled through his mind like so many glass bells and he sighed from the sheer pleasure of it. There was nothing fake in it, nothing mean-spirited, it was just… a laugh.

He danced twice with her before the final song of the night was announced and the slow chords of a love song wafted through the air. She had declined his invitation and opted on sitting that one out. They had gone their separate ways after that. He had been the first to reach the tower and immediately gone to his room. He looked at himself in the mirror. Dark hair, tanned skin… it _so_ wasn't him. Smiling, he took the ring off his right ring finger. The human hologram disappeared to reveal his noticeably green skin and animal-like fangs.

Beast Boy smiled at himself before kissing the ring.

"Thank you, Cyborg!"

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Well, that's it! All feedback is greatly appreciated. Just hit go :).


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